


Stay the same

by kyraensui



Series: Song fic universe [2]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Fluffy Ending, M/M, Male Friendship, Rivalry, Self Confidence Issues, Self-Acceptance, Self-Esteem Issues, Short & Sweet, Songfic, Team Bonding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-11
Updated: 2017-05-11
Packaged: 2018-10-30 19:48:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,139
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10883712
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kyraensui/pseuds/kyraensui
Summary: Lance's POV about his self-esteem and how he views with others especially about Keith.





	Stay the same

**Author's Note:**

> Author's note: To be honest, I don't actually have a set OTP so I write as I go that fits within my story's image, but Keith is my favorite character so I enjoyed any pairing with him in it. 
> 
> When I heard this song, [Stay the same](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mm0yyhGk0NM) by Joey Mcintyre, I thought of Lance and his self-esteem about himself. I hope I did justice in how I viewed him.

_Don't you ever wish_  
_You were someone else_  
_You were meant to be_  
_The way you are exactly_

  
  
  
  
It wasn't easy to be accepted. I've worked my butt off to achieve a dream that I felt it was impossible to have. I told my family about it and they were very supportive. I didn't want to disappoint them when I enrolled since I wanted to follow the steps of my favorite hero. He was amazing. Takashi Shirogane was my hero.  
  
I wanted to be like him.

  
  
_Don't you ever say_  
_You don't like the way you are_  
_When you learn to love yourself_  
_You're better off by far_

  
  
  
  
I admired Shiro from a distance when he was our tutor instructor. He was calm and nice. He was someone I wanted to follow until I found myself competing with another cadet. Someone was closer to my hero than anyone in our ranks. He was someone who can achieve much closer than I can ever do within the months I've been there.  
  
He was someone who had a terrible hairstyle and yet, an amazing pilot who can rival Shiro with enough training. He was someone I knew I had to compete with as a rival. And yet, throughout the courses of our semester, I was nothing more a mere cadet who gets compare on with the new kid. He was quiet and distant with other cadets except for Shiro. Shiro was able to make him talk and express the emotions that Lance thought he didn't know how to in front of others.

And his name was Keith.

  
  
_And I hope you always stay the same_  
_'Cause there's nothing 'bout you I would change_

  
  
  
  
I didn't like how Iverson talked down about other cadets especially myself. I knew I wasn't the best pilot in the class until Keith was kicked out, but he didn't have to rub it hard in my face. I knew what I was doing except for the meaning of teamwork.  
  
Hunk was someone I knew when we had classes together and he was great to hang out if he wasn't always scared to do some things. And there was Pidge who seems to get annoyed whenever Iverson spoke of Kerberos mission. He was outspoken when Iverson spoke rudely about it as an example for our training.

  
  
  
_I think that you could be_  
_Whatever you wanted to be_  
_If you could realize_  
_All the dreams you have inside_  
_Don't be afraid_

  
  
  
  
Shiro. He was alive. My hero was alive, but taken in as a prisoner to be experiment on when he crashed down to Earth. Those Garrison troops didn't let him explain and I didn't like how they were treating him. Beside Hunk who tries to weasel out when it comes to danger, but Pidge and I were thinking of a way to help when we heard explosions from a distance and Pidge pointed out the culprit. I looked through the binocular and saw the very familiar person with that mullet.  
  
It's Keith I said as I ran down from the cliff. I didn't bother listening the others when I made a mad dash to where they were holding Shiro. I just knew I wanted to one-up on that guy. He was always the one who makes him feel useless and compare with.  
  
The moment I was able to catch up and saw Keith holding onto Shiro, I marched over quick and snatched up the other side and glared at him when I told him that I will be saving Shiro. When I told him who I was, he had the blasphemy to not know who I was. It was quite offending as I was considering him as our rival until it finally dawn on him who I was before he was kicked out.  
  
Plus I didn't like how he congratulated me about it. I wanted to sock his pretty face.

  
  
  
_If you got something to say_  
_Just open up your heart_  
_And let it show you the way_

  
  
  
If I had to say something amazing about my life, it would have to be the moment I piloted Blue. She was calm and gentle like Shiro's soul. She guided me on how to pilot her when we all found her. I made sure to rub it in on Keith that she liked me more than him and that I got her to open up even though he found her months ago. I also teased his little sixth sense of his.  
  
Blue was nothing like the simulation we were trained on at the Garrison and she was amazing when I made so many twists and turns of piloting her until we flew out of Earth's atmosphere. I knew my life would change after meeting Blue, but I didn't know it would so much that it will test my perspective of life outside of my protective shell.

  
  
_Believe in yourself_  
_Reach down inside_  
_The love you find will set you free_

  
  
  
We awoken Allura and Coran from their 10,000 years of sleep and that's when we learned the fate of our life and their long war against the Galra Empire. The same empire that took Shiro's peaceful life away and threw him in hell.  
  
It was also the same evil who took away Pidge's family when we found out after our bonding session and when we finally form Voltron. I didn't knew Pidge was a girl either! Everyone knew except for me and I blamed it on being in the cyropod for not being up to date.  
  
It was when Keith told me that we had a bonding moment which I had no recollection since I was going in and out of conscience. Somehow, it made him infuriated that I didn't remember, but I just shrugged it, but there was a nagging feeling inside that we did. That same feeling continue to grow slowly inside with every moment I had to work with Keith.  
  
I wondered if I was imagining that Keith was also looking at me with a different set of eyes. Something I can tell since I've watched him since his first day at the Garrison, but I knew it changed after we found Blue in the cave.  
  
What didn't change was the way we butt heads with our thinking. He was impulsive and temperamental while I was trying to be reasonable and clear-minded. I could still feel my ego bruised with Keith's flying with Red as if he was born to fly. The way Shiro smiled and complimented him that I hoped it was me instead of Keith. I knew from the beginning that I can never be like Keith, but I didn't knew it was that painful to admit.

  
  
_Believe in yourself_  
_You will come alive_  
_Have faith in what you do_  
_You'll make it through_

  
  
After we all got lost in the distorted wormhole was when I learned more about myself. The courage I didn't knew I had until I unlocked Blue's hidden weapon. It felt warm inside like I was proud of myself. Like Blue was proud of me. She was like a mother who was proud of her cub and I was her cub. I smiled as we went back to meet up with Hunk. I was a happy cub.  
  
I didn't know when it started or how it happened, but I noticed myself how I watched Keith with a different mentality. I didn't see him as my rival, but more of a close acquaintance. Somehow, I know it was deeper than that, but I wasn't sure how to describe the conflicted feeling.  
  
When he mentioned how Zarkon might have imprinted him, I became more concerned with him than I did with Allura. When he told us he was half Galra after coming back from Blade of Marmora headquarters with Shiro, I understood the pain of being different. I wasn't like Hunk who tries to lighten up his mood by teasing his heritage, but I was not definitely like Allura who simply ignored Keith. She was placing her blind anger on him because simply, he was the closest Galra she can threw her hate on. That didn't set well in my stomach and I wanted to show her that Keith is still the same Paladin with a mullet.  
  
When I was alone with Allura, I had my two-cent with her and I could tell she was feeling the guilt. I wasn't the only one who had spoke to her about it. Coran had beaten me to the punch and I felt eternally grateful with him.  
  
Beside Shiro, Pidge and I were more understanding. I was surprised with Pidge and Shiro the most since we knew how the Galra took so much out of them. They knew it was Zarkon to blame, not Keith. For me, I knew this would change the way Keith think of himself as I continued to watch him since I had a feeling he would be reckless.  
  
Reckless to prove he was still himself and not the Galra that we were fighting for. So when we were planning to take down Zarkon with the help of our allies, that was when I had to talk with Keith. Alone.  
  
When I pulled Keith alone within Blue's hanger, I had to ask him. It was something that bother me for awhile and I knew if I didn't ask him now, when will I? Will we be able to see another tomorrow?  
  
"Keith, what will you do afterwards?"  
  
I could see the surprised look when he stared at me with those violet eyes. I always enjoyed those color eyes and found myself liking more along with the color red. It just represent the person in front of him that took so much of his mind. He wasn't sure since when he can only think of Keith and his well-being.  
  
"I don't know."  
  
I sighed and moved closer to him as I pulled out a small Ipod nano-like technology and pulled the earphones out as I placed one on my left ear and another on Keith's right. He was shocked and tried to step back until I pulled him close by his shoulder and rest my forehead on his as I closed my eyes.  
  
"Stay and listen. Please, Keith."  
  
It took a moment for Keith to relax and felt his deep breaths until I felt his hand on my own on his shoulder. He gave a small nod and closed his eyes as my finger pressed play.  
  
It was those words I wanted Keith to hear. It was the same words I've kept inside of me when I first heard it. I had to thank Pidge for this. Who knew she was a sucker for this kind of song? But then again, she used her small bayard on me for a quick shock and said it was because of Matt.

  
  
  
  
_Don't you ever wish_  
_You were someone else_  
_You were meant to be_  
_The way you are exactly_  
_Don't you ever say_  
_You don't like the way you are_  
_When you learn to love yourself_  
_You're better off by far_  
_And I hope you always stay the same_  
_'Cause there's nothing 'bout you I would change_

  
  
  
I found myself singing along the words and then whispering softly at the end.

  
_Don't change_

  
  
  
I could feel Keith's body tensed up when I said it. I didn't care why I said it for him to hear, but I felt it was something I wanted to tell him. To tell him that I didn't care if he was half Galra because he was still the same Keith who can be a pain in the butt. He was the one who had given him the reason to become stronger and confident.  
  
I blinked and my mouth gaped open wide when I felt his arm wrapped around my neck as he was burying his face at the crook of my neck. I continue to look at him with my hands freezing up since I didn't know how to comprehend the new situation.  
  
That was when I heard his mumbled words that everything kept inside of me flowed out like a floodgate. My eyes became blurry all of a sudden and I found myself gripping hard on his jacket as I hid my face on his shoulder. It was only simple words, but the way he said it. They were enough to let it all go.  
  
"Stay the same, Lance. I like the way you are before and even now. Don't ever change either."

Even though the song had ended, but the only sounds we heard was the purrs of our lions in our mind and the gentle sounds of our beating hearts as we just stood still and enjoying our alone time. It was our special bonding moment.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! <3
> 
> Feel free to follow or talk to me over at **[my tumblr page](https://kyraensui.tumblr.com/)** all updates and insights of my fics.  <3


End file.
